Preformed fiberglass swimming pools offer many advantages over in-situ formed shotcrete or concrete walled swimming pools. Fiberglass pool bodies may be quickly and inexpensively formed and require considerably less effort to put into the ground. The main drawback associated with fiberglass swimming pools has been the tendency for the bottom and/or sides to bulge inward from geological and/or hydrostatic forces from accumulated groundwater if the backfill around the pool is not properly done. The backfill around the pool perimeter is typically sand, gravel, or a combination of the two. In the case of sand, a poor backfilling job may result in settling of the sand, which may lead to an inward bulging of the pool sidewalls. Gravel backfill is less prone to flowing and settling, but is harder to evenly distribute around the outer surface of a pool, especially if that surface is irregular. Further, some pool owners insist upon emptying the pool of water, such as for thorough cleaning, and fiberglass pool designs rely on the water to provide positive pressure to resist inward bulging of the sides and/or hydrostatic forces pushing on the pool bottom, which can urge the pool upwardly, resulting in a ruptured pool bottom and/or dislodgement of the pool body.
Ground water may cause major damage and expensive repair costs to in-ground pools, if not managed properly. Swimming pool owners have concrete pools popping out of the ground, vinyl liners floating, and fiberglass pools being warped, cracked and dislodged due to the application of uncontrolled hydrostatic forces.
Thus, there remains a need for a method and apparatus that would allow easy installation of a preformed fiberglass pool body while providing additional support to resist the inward bulging of the pool sidewalls over time. The present novel technology addresses this need.